Ventriloquist
by Sky Stroll
Summary: They called me Puppet: I played the part well, or so they said.  Xion   oneshot


(...Well, it's been a while. I apologize for my terribly long hiatus, but I've been relatively busy in the past few years, and I have not been able to keep up with everything. Hopefully, I can fix that, haha.

I'm only returning now because this is a giftfic for one of my best friends, Eternal-Insomnia. Happy birthday, you awesome kid! Here's your fanfic.)

(Unfortunately, the formatting was not preserved in the publishing of this fic. It is meant to be read slowly, with breaks in between every part of sandwiched italics. For some reason, the way I read it on the site is not the same. Hah.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.

**- Ventriloquist –**

They called me Puppet.

"A fitting name for an empty shell," they would say.

They claimed I played the part well:

"Smile," they would say.

_ The first time I met him, I knew there was something there. Was it the moment he said, "It's nice to meet you," or was it when he hugged me instead of shaking my hand? Or maybe it was when he took out his wallet and bought me my first ice cream. Either way, everything he did tugged at the corners of my mouth._

And I would smile.

"Laugh," they would say.

_ I guess they were jokes, all with terrible punch lines and dropped phrases. Neither Axel nor I even paid attention until he stood up and stomped his foot on the ledge of clock tower like a five-year-old. "Stop it," Axel said, "You're going to fall—" And as if on cue, he lost his balance and almost plummeted to his sad and short death. __He regained his balance, and I could see that his fact was bright red from embarrassment. I should have been either scared or sad, but when he looked up at me with such innocent, afraid eyes, my mouth opened…_

And I would laugh.

"Move," they would say.

_ Axel was later than usual that day, so it was just the two of us, watching the sunset. The silence would normally be awkward, but I didn't mind it this time. In fact, I liked it; I was more than happy just to be there with him. And yet, there was something screaming inside of me. In the midst of all this beautiful silence, I realized that all I wanted to do was hold his hand._

And so I did.

Who was I to go against the current?

_ "You're a puppet," they said. "You don't know anything."  
"Just a copy of his memories," one of them mumbled.  
And yet another one would say, "You do only what we tell you to do."  
And I would just sit there and nod, because my true purpose was revealed. I was merely playing out a scene from the past, living memories that were never meant to be mine._

Every puppet has to play its part.

"Forget," he said.

_ Oh, how I feared the truth. I was afraid for this day so much, up to the point where the very idea caused me to wake up in the middle of the night, breathless and gasping for air. I knew it would come someday, but I just wished for more time, for more second chances…  
And yet, there he and I stood, victims of the terrible fate that clings to our hearts, or lack thereof.  
And so I began to wither._

Love has no place in a puppet's life.

And yet, I tried.

_ "I can't… He's my friend," I said, emotionless. "I…" I began. "I love him." Perhaps in the most innocent sense of love, one without experience or knowledge to taint its very essence.  
And he only laughed. "A puppet cannot _feel_."  
My eyes glazed over. Who was I to interfere with a scene I was never meant to be in?  
"You are broken," he said. "It is time to get that fixed." His dark, sinister smile revealed greed and violence. I knew my fate.  
And so I submitted._

What puppet defies its master?

"You are finished now."

_ A sad ending, destroyed by the very hands which created me. Forgotten by the only person I have ever loved... Born a puppet, died a puppet. But this time, I had a purpose: To return the memories of which I had stolen. Yes, I was born a thief. But I died a benefactor.  
"Who else will I have ice cream with?" he says, tears filling his deep azure eyes.  
Oh, innocent Love.  
Love is such a sad thing._

A tear ran down my cheek.

But it was never my tear to begin with.


End file.
